Behrens was born in Shenzhen, the city of innovation par excellence – the place where the products of today and tomorrow are brought into being, before being shipped out to the entire world. It was in this incredibly creative environment that Lin Bingqiang glimpsed the possibility for creating a disruptive watch brand. Beginning in 2006, he put his exceptional imagination to work inventing a wide array of dials, displays and complications for his many clients. His particular gift is to take proven base movements and transform them into almost unrecognisable creations. They transport the viewer to new cosmic horizons where time is deconstructed and reconstructed according to totally new geometries.
Behrens
Behrens is a young, independent brand that specialises in designing futuristic and creative complications and time display modules.
About
2012
Creation of the Behrens brand
2018
First models launched
2020
Rotary and Apolar models unveiled and pre-selected for the GPHG
2021
Launch of Project One, a tribute to Tianwen-1, China’s first mission to Mars
2022
Invitation to Time To Watches, collaborations with Label Noir and Konstantin Chaykin
Philosophy
A limitless universe; unbridled creativity paired with a rare technical mastery: Behrens is all that and much more. The brand focuses solely on creating original displays. No two Behrens watches are alike, and Behrens is wholly unlike any other watchmaking project. The brand draws its inspiration from the world of Peter Behrens, the father of industrial design and a pioneer of disruptive design. While Behrens the man focused on the universe of functional buildings, the watch brand focuses on… the universe: Mars, the moon, the cosmos, space missions. In this context, where space and time are intimately intertwined, Behrens explores new dimensions, breaking away from the traditional central hands and concentric displays. Out in the world, time is linear. Here, it’s retrograde. Sometimes, it’s exploded into cardinal representations; at other times, it’s pyramidal. And occasionally it will be inspired by a space station.
Collections
Apolar
Taking a pyramidal approach to time, the Apolar explodes hours and minutes onto two separate discs that form the base of an edifice with the Earth at its apex, counting off the 24-hour day as it rotates. The unapologetically mechanical Apolar reveals a glimpse of its internal workings, as if to show off the traditional Swiss Made base that inspired it, and demonstrate how much further it has travelled.
Interstellar Travel
This bold piece is inspired by the concept of interstellar travel. Starting with a Miyota base movement, Behrens has developed a unique 100% mechanical module that uses two rotating sapphire discs to activate a revolving module once every hour. The first indicates the hours, and the second the minutes. The seconds are displayed in the centre, along with a date window. This is a unique, hypnotic, space-age piece.
Perigee
Inspired by the Apolar, this highly technical creation offers a stunning spectacle of the Earth and Moon, driven by a chain with a ruby inserted into every link. As well as giving the watch a powerful aesthetic appeal, the rubies also reduce friction in the transmission. Framed by a grade 5 titanium case, the hours are displayed on a moving track around the globe, while the minutes have their own retrograde display.
Project One
This retro-futurist composition looks like the deck of a cyberpunk spaceship. Above the hours and minutes rollers, miniature representations of Earth and Mars each have their own time zone and week indicator. With its titanium case and sapphire glass, this sculptural creation brings together Earth time and Mars time in a totally disruptive design.
Rotor Rotary
With hours on one side and minutes on the other, the Rotor is based on the Rotary module that disconnects these two key components of time measurement. The circular display is gone, along with the hands, which are replaced by openworked triangular elements with a futuristic feel. The twin rotors offer a modernistic vision of time inside a 42 mm titanium case, paying tribute to the famous Rotary engine that helped Mazda ascend to the highest step of the GT Sport podium.
Starship
This automatic 42mm model replaces the traditional central display with series of superimposed domes displaying the hours, minutes and seconds, with triangular arrows mounted on propeller-like elements to indicate the time. The three-dimensional Starship is one of Behrens’ sportier and more accessible timepieces, with a steel case and a rubber strap in a range of colours.
